Freedom House chief says Obama’s refusal to give lethal aid to Kiev is a mistake

The US should give lethal assistance to Ukraine, the head of democracy watchdog Freedom House has said, describing President Barack Obama's refusal to supply such aid to the country's military – despite Kiev's pleas – a mistake.

There is “no doubt” the US president will follow through
with his decision not to supply lethal assistance to Ukraine,
said David Kramer, former assistant secretary of state and
president of Freedom House – an independent watchdog dedicated to
the expansion of freedom around the world.

Kramer visited Kiev on Monday, delivering a speech on the conflict at the Ukraine Crisis
Media Center.

“The US should provide lethal assistance to Ukraine,” he
said, as quoted by the media center. Kramer also criticized
Obama’s refusal to do so, calling it a “mistake.”

David Kramer, ex Assistant to the Secretary of State: US
military assistance to #Ukraine has
important psychological effect

He expressed hope that the support of Kiev’s request by the US
Congress can persuade the White House to change its position.

Obama has declined to supply Ukraine with “lethal aide,”
despite Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s plea for more
military equipment, during a White House meeting between the two
leaders on Thursday. The US president stated that only non-lethal
assistance will be supplied to Kiev, and pledged $53 million in
fresh aid.

During interviews on US television channels following the meeting
with Obama, Poroshenko said that defense equipment provided by
the US and other states “will increase the effectiveness of
our weapons and help modernize them.”

On Sunday, Poroshenko stated that the Ukrainian army has suffered
heavy losses, with up to 65 percent of hardware lost or destroyed
in military operations in the east of the country.

Despite Obama’s reluctance, the US Senate last week introduced a
bill authorizing the Obama administration to supply Kiev with
$350 million worth of sophisticated weapons technology in the
2015 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the ceasefire adopted by Kiev and the self-proclaimed
People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in Minsk earlier this
month is still in place. Under the memorandum hammered out at the
talks, both sides of the conflict agreed to halt all fighting in
eastern Ukraine.

The agreement outlined a buffer zone of 30 km which is to be free
from heavy weapons, and banned all military aircraft from flying
over territory controlled by the eastern militia.

The Minsk memorandum was aimed at establishing a more lasting
ceasefire. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) has been tasked with making sure both sides adhere
to the ceasefire conditions.

Russia’s OSCE envoy, Andrey Kelin, told Itar-Tass in an interview
earlier in September that a “temporary cessation of
hostilities will be of no use” in resolving the conflict.

“[The] truce concluded for several days will merely let the
warring parties regroup themselves and go on fighting, the way it
happened many times in the past. Such a pause is unnecessary.
There should be a substantive, full-fledged ceasefire,”
Kelin said.